A woman called me yesterday. She was very upset. She had read one of my articles and told me that she called because it stood out from the others.

“My home has been on the market for several days and my neighbor’s homes are selling all around me.” She said in a distressed voice.

“Did your agent list it on the MLS?” I asked.

“Yes.” She said.

“That’s good. The MLS gives your home maximum exposure to the people that are hunting for homes. Did your agent make up color flyers explaining the benefits of all the features your home has to offer?” I probed further.

“No, my agent said in this crazy market there wasn’t time to make up flyers.” she answered.

“Okay. Well, what about an Open House? Is your agent doing an Open House?” I asked.

“Well, no.” She said. “My agent is a….um…well…friend of the family. She hates to do Open Houses and she told me she has a baby shower this weekend so she didn’t want to do one.”

Past experience told me her agent was a discount agent that doesn’t bring a lot of value to a real estate transaction. Discount agents have to do three times the amount of business and they burn out fast at that pace. They also don’t develop their people and negotiation skills the way high level professionals do because they simply work on volume. The only value they can think to offer is a discount. Because of her answers, I had to ask.

“Did your agent do this for a discounted listing fee?” I probed.

“Nope, I am paying her a full commission. She listed another home for me not that long ago and she is driving a Lincoln Navigator that I helped pay for I am sure.” She said disgustedly.

“I have another question for you.” I said. “How about TV. I put my clients home on Cox cable TV 4 times per day. Is she doing anything like that?

“No”. She answered. “She doesn’t even have a flyer tube out front or any of those extra signs that say gorgeous inside or spa included. We have a spa but she told me not everyone likes a spa.”

Wow, I wasn’t sure where to go with this one. While she was on the phone with me I asked for the address of her home and pulled it up on the Multiple Listing Service. It was a basic listing. No real marketing verbiage that I could see, just a list of features. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, spa, backyard and the owners phone number.

As I scrutinized the MLS sheet, the woman continued, “She basically put a sign up in the yard and walked away.”

“Yes, I can see that.” I remarked.

As I listened to this woman talk about her “friend” I wondered why they were friends. Friends look out for one another’s best interest, right? Friends make sure that their buddies receive a higher level of service and go to a higher degree to serve them, right? I often wonder why REALTORS discount their services to their friends and then provide them with crummy service. In this case, the agent “friend” wasn’t even discounting her fees! Ouch!

My next question was, ”How many times a week does she follow-up with you? Does she collect the cards other agents leave and provide you with feedback?” “Nope. I haven’t even talked to her since she put the sign up in the yard three weeks ago.” She said.

I could hear the stress and disappointment in this woman’s voice. After this conversation, I felt the need to tell you, my friends, don’t worry, I will take the best of care of you. Some of you are attorneys, tradesmen, mortgage brokers, business owners, marketers, executives, CPA’s, and some of you work other regular type jobs for a living. All of us have an avenue to feed our families and we all provide a service to our customers. We give the best we have with the expectation that we get paid what we are worth., right?

The thing I have learned in my business is my clients become my friends and my friends become my clients. Cool, huh? A deep level of trust must be placed in your real estate agent. They are managing the transfer of ownership on your largest asset, your home. As far as a stress level, well……moving is way at the top, right next to death of a spouse and divorce.

Friends. Do not feel obligated to have me list your home when you are ready to sell. Please only have me list your home because I am a competent and driven business partner that you know will oversee every detail of your transaction. Hire me because you know that what is in your best interest, is also in mine. Those of you close to me know I typically get more than your home is worth and it certainly makes up for any amount of commission you pay me. My reputation and my pocketbook depend upon it. I don’t think you can ever have enough “true” friends.